Men's Lacrosse

Mount Union Names P.J. Kavanagh Head Men's Lacrosse Coach

P.J. Kavanagh was the head coach at SUNY-Plattsburgh for the last five seasons.

Jun 17, 2011

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The University of Mount Union has named P.J. Kavanagh head men's lacrosse coach.

Kavanagh will be the first-ever varsity men's lacrosse coach at Mount Union. The sport has been a club team on a couple of occasions in the past and will be restarted as a club team in 2011-12 then begin as a varsity sport in the 2012-13 academic year.

"Coach Kavanagh's experience, drive and dedication to his student-athletes and the community made him the perfect choice to start our program," commented search committee chair Jeff Wojtowicz. "All of us at Mount Union look forward to working with him to build our men's lacrosse program."

Kavanagh has spent the last seven seasons, two as an assistant coach and the last five as head coach, at SUNY-Plattsburgh in Plattsburgh, NY.

He posted a 47-34 (.580) mark in five seasons as head coach that included the three best seasons in team history, while his teams set single-season records for scoring four different times and each of the last three seasons received votes in the USILA Top-20 Coaches Poll. He coached two All-Americans, two North-South Senior All-Star Game selections and Senior Male Athlete of the Year.

As impressive as his teams have been on the field, off the field he has had numerous Academic All-SUNY selections and his team's have logged over 1,400 community service hours and raised over $15,000 for charity.

Prior to his time at Plattsburgh, Kavanagh had 10 years of coaching at New England prep schools, Bridgeport Barrage of professional Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and Henninger High School, his prep alma mater, in Syracuse, N.Y.

Kavanagh attended and played NCAA Division I lacrosse at Colgate University as he was a goalie then the long stick defensive midfielder who was a team captain his senior season. He earned a bachelor's degree in geology with a minor in geography and later went on to earn a master's degree in leadership and administration from SUNY-Plattsburgh.

"The University of Mount Union and athletics department have been synonymous with success and I see that success in the academic commitment of the student-athletes as well as with the athletic teams," stated Kavanagh. "The quality of the academic programs and the beautiful facilities give Mount Union potential for significant achievement in men's lacrosse here and I am excited to have been offered the opportunity to lead the Purple Raiders in this endeavor."

Kavanagh and his wife Elizabeth are the proud parents of three sons -- Sean (6), Aidan (3) and Ryan (2).